U.S. patent number 11,174,034 [Application Number 16/524,608] was granted by the patent office on 2021-11-16 for optimizing aircraft control based on noise abatement volumes.
This patent grant is currently assigned to GE Aviation Systems LLC. The grantee listed for this patent is GE Aviation Systems LLC. Invention is credited to Mark Lawrence Darnell, David M Lax, Brandon James Rhone.
United States Patent |
11,174,034 |
Darnell , et al. |
November 16, 2021 |
Optimizing aircraft control based on noise abatement volumes
Abstract
An aircraft control system and method to optimize aircraft
control based on noise abatement volumes. A noise abatement
component computes optimal flight and engine control based on a
line-of-sight distance to minimize direct operating cost (DOC)
while complying with community noise regulations.
Inventors: |
Darnell; Mark Lawrence (Ada,
MI), Lax; David M (Grand Rapids, MI), Rhone; Brandon
James (Kentwood, MI) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
GE Aviation Systems LLC |
Grand Rapids |
MI |
US |
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Assignee: |
GE Aviation Systems LLC (Grand
Rapids, MI)
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Family
ID: |
1000005937142 |
Appl.
No.: |
16/524,608 |
Filed: |
July 29, 2019 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20190344901 A1 |
Nov 14, 2019 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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15616910 |
Jun 7, 2017 |
10399689 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01C
21/20 (20130101); B64D 31/06 (20130101); G05D
1/0661 (20130101); G08G 5/0034 (20130101); B64C
19/00 (20130101); G08G 5/0065 (20130101); B64D
33/06 (20130101); G08G 5/006 (20130101); G08G
5/0086 (20130101); B64C 2220/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B64D
31/06 (20060101); F02K 1/34 (20060101); G08G
5/00 (20060101); G05D 1/06 (20060101); B64C
19/00 (20060101); G01C 21/20 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2 584 422 |
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Apr 2013 |
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EP |
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3 040 801 |
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Mar 2017 |
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FR |
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2017/042166 |
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Mar 2017 |
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WO |
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Other References
Non-Final Office Action received for U.S. Appl. No. 15/616,910
dated Jul. 2, 2018, 23 pages. cited by applicant .
Final Office Action received for U.S. Appl. No. 15/616,910 dated
Jan. 25, 2019, 23 pages. cited by applicant .
Extended European Search Report and Opinion issued in connection
with corresponding EP Application No. 18176117.2 dated Oct. 30,
2018. cited by applicant .
Notice of Allowance received for U.S. Appl. No. 15/616,910 dated
Apr. 23, 2019, 24 pages. cited by applicant .
Communication pursuant to Rule 69 EPC received for EP Patent
Application Serial No. 18176117.2 dated Dec. 17, 2018, 2 pages.
cited by applicant .
First Office Action received for Canadian Patent Application Serial
No. 3,006,131 dated Apr. 5, 2019, 5 pages. cited by applicant .
Communication pursuant to Article 94(3) EPC received for European
Patent Application Serial No. 18176117.2 dated Sep. 24, 2019, 5
pages. cited by applicant .
Communication under Rule 71(3) EPC received for EP Patent
Application Serial No. 18176117.2 dated May 4, 2021, 41 pages.
cited by applicant.
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Primary Examiner: Badii; Behrang
Assistant Examiner: Greene; Daniel L
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Amin, Turocy & Watson, LLP
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE
This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 15/616,910, filed Jun. 7, 2017, and
entitled "OPTIMIZING AIRCRAFT CONTROL BASED ON NOISE ABATEMENT
VOLUMES." The entirety of the foregoing application listed herein
is hereby incorporated by reference.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An aircraft control system, comprising: a processor; and a
non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored
therein computer-executable components executable by the processor,
the components comprising: a positioning component executable to
determine a straight line distance from an aircraft to a
geographical point of interest using data collected from a sensor
of the aircraft; and a noise abatement component executable to
compute optimal thrust of the aircraft in a noise abatement volume
based on the straight line distance to facilitate operation of the
aircraft at the optimal thrust in the noise abatement volume.
2. The aircraft control system of claim 1, wherein the positioning
component is further executable to determine the straight line
distance from the aircraft to a ground noise restriction
location.
3. The aircraft control system of claim 1, wherein the noise
abatement component is further executable to compute an optimal
flight path for the aircraft in the noise abatement volume based on
the straight line distance to facilitate operation of the aircraft
using the optimal flight path in the noise abatement volume.
4. The aircraft control system of claim 1, wherein the noise
abatement component is further executable to compute optimal engine
control of the aircraft in the noise abatement volume based on the
straight line distance to facilitate operation of the aircraft
using the optimal engine control in the noise abatement volume.
5. The aircraft control system of claim 1, wherein the noise
abatement component is further executable to compute the optimal
thrust of the aircraft in the noise abatement volume based on the
straight line distance to minimize direct operating cost of the
aircraft.
6. The aircraft control system of claim 1, wherein the noise
abatement component is further executable to compute the optimal
thrust of the aircraft in the noise abatement volume based on the
straight line distance to satisfy noise constraints associated with
the noise abatement volume.
7. The aircraft control system of claim 1, wherein the noise
abatement component is further executable to constrain control of
the aircraft based on noise regulations associated with the noise
abatement volume and operational constraints associated with the
aircraft.
8. The aircraft control system of claim 1, wherein the noise
abatement component is further executable to generate defined
routes associated with the aircraft based on operational
constraints of the aircraft.
9. The aircraft control system of claim 1, wherein the computer
executable-components further comprise: a mapping component that is
executable to generate a mapping of noise-restricted areas of a
flight path of the aircraft defined by the straight line distance,
and wherein the mapping component is executable to determine the
noise abatement volume based on the mapping of the noise-restricted
areas.
10. The aircraft control system of claim 1, wherein the
computer-executable components further comprise: a modeling
component executable to generate a model related to a comparison
between thrust of the aircraft and sound associated with operation
of the aircraft, and wherein the noise abatement component is
executable to compute the optimal thrust of the aircraft in the
noise abatement volume based on the model.
11. The aircraft control system of claim 1, wherein the computer
executable components further comprise: an artificial intelligence
component executable to perform a utility-based analysis to
facilitate generation of the optimal thrust of the aircraft in the
noise abatement volume.
12. A method, comprising: employing a processor to execute
computer-executable components embodied on a non-transitory
computer readable storage medium to perform the following acts:
determining a line-of-sight distance from an aircraft to a
geographical point of interest using data collected from a sensor
of the aircraft; and computing optimal thrust of the aircraft in a
noise abatement volume based on the line-of-sight distance to
facilitate operation of the aircraft at the optimal thrust in the
noise abatement volume.
13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: computing an
optimal flight path for the aircraft in the noise abatement volume
based on the line-of-sight distance to facilitate operation of the
aircraft using the optimal flight path in the noise abatement
volume.
14. The method of claim 12, further comprising: computing optimal
engine control of the aircraft in the noise abatement volume based
on the line-of-sight distance to facilitate operation of the
aircraft using the optimal engine control in the noise abatement
volume.
15. The method of claim 12, further comprising: generating a
mapping of noise-restricted areas of a flight path of the aircraft
defined by the line-of-sight distance.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: determining the
noise abatement volume based on the mapping of the noise-restricted
areas.
17. A non-transitory computer program product for facilitating
aircraft noise abatement, the computer program product comprising a
non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program
instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions
executable by a processor to cause the processor to: determine a
line-of-sight distance from an aircraft to a geographical point of
interest using data collected from a sensor of the aircraft; and
compute optimal thrust of the aircraft in a noise abatement volume
based on the line-of-sight distance to facilitate operation of the
aircraft at the optimal thrust in the noise abatement volume.
18. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the program
instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the
processor to compute an optimal flight path for the aircraft in the
noise abatement volume based on the line-of-sight distance to
facilitate operation of the aircraft using the optimal flight path
in the noise abatement volume.
19. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the program
instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the
processor to compute optimal engine control of the aircraft in the
noise abatement volume based on the line-of-sight distance to
facilitate operation of the aircraft using the optimal engine
control in the noise abatement volume.
20. The computer program product of claim 17, wherein the program
instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the
processor to generate a mapping of noise-restricted areas of a
flight path of the aircraft defined by the line-of-sight distance.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The subject disclosure relates to systems and methods for aircraft
noise abatement.
BACKGROUND
The subject disclosure relates to optimizing aircraft control in
order to minimize Direct Operating Cost (DOC) while complying with
noise constraints and or optimizing control to concurrently
minimize DOC and noise. As cost of fuel increases, airlines are
interested in consuming less fuel. Current flight operations are
often suboptimal and use more fuel than necessary.
SUMMARY
The following presents a summary to provide a basic understanding
of one or more embodiments of the invention. This summary is not
intended to identify key or critical elements, or delineate any
scope of the particular embodiments or any scope of the claims. Its
sole purpose is to present concepts in a simplified form as a
prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
In one or more embodiments described herein, devices, systems,
computer-implemented methods, apparatus and/or computer program
products are described.
By optimizing aircraft control to minimize fuel burn and complying
with noise restrictions or to minimize noise while keeping DOC low,
airlines can decrease total cost of operations.
In an embodiment, an aircraft control system comprises: a processor
that executes the following computer executable components stored
in a memory: a set of sensors, gauges, and positioning systems that
measure and estimate an aircraft state; a mapping component that
maps noise-restricted areas of a flight path defined by relative
position of the aircraft to ground noise restriction locations; and
a noise abatement component that computes optimal flight and engine
control based on a line-of-sight distance to ground noise
restriction locations or geographical point of interest to minimize
direct operating cost (DOC) while obeying noise constraints.
In another embodiment, the aircraft control system further
comprises a modeling component that models how sound from an engine
of the aircraft varies with thrust and distance of the aircraft
from ground, wherein the noise abatement component can generate
data to employ for increasing thrust of the engine, and thus sound
produced by the engine, while complying with maximum sound pressure
level permitted on the ground.
In another embodiment, the aircraft control system further
comprises an artificial intelligence component that performs a
utility-based analysis in connection with optimizing the DOC and
respective noise abatement.
In another embodiment, a computer program product for facilitating
aircraft noise abatement, the computer program product comprising a
computer readable storage medium having program instructions
embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a
processor to cause the processor to: use a set of sensors, gauges,
and positioning component to measure and estimate state of an
aircraft; use a mapping component to map noise-restricted areas of
a flight path defined by relative position of the aircraft to
ground noise restriction locations; and use a noise abatement
component to compute optimal flight and engine control based on a
line-of-sight distance to ground noise restriction locations or
geographical point of interest to minimize DOC while obeying noise
constraints.
In some embodiments, elements described in connection with the
computer-implemented method(s) can be embodied in different forms
such as a system, a computer program product, or another form.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 illustrates a system for aircraft noise abatement in
accordance with one or more embodiments described herein.
FIG. 2 illustrates an effect of optimizing flight through a noise
abatement volume in accordance with one or more embodiments
described herein.
FIG. 3 illustrates an effect of optimizing flight with increasing
thrust in accordance with one or more embodiments described
herein.
FIG. 4 illustrates a representation of noise based on specific
point on the ground in accordance with one or more embodiments
described herein.
FIG. 5 illustrates a system for aircraft noise abatement including
a modeling component in accordance with one or more embodiments
described herein.
FIG. 6 illustrates a system for aircraft noise abatement including
an artificial intelligence component in accordance with one or more
embodiments described herein.
FIG. 7 illustrates an example, non-limiting method in accordance
with one or more embodiments described herein.
FIG. 8 illustrates an example, non-limiting method in accordance
with one or more embodiments described herein.
FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example, non-limiting
operating environment in which one or more embodiments described
herein can be facilitated.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The following detailed description is merely illustrative and is
not intended to limit embodiments and/or application or uses of
embodiments. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any
expressed or implied information presented in the preceding
Background or Summary sections, or in the Detailed Description
section.
One or more embodiments are now described with reference to the
drawings, wherein like referenced numerals are used to refer to
like elements throughout. In the following description, for
purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in
order to provide a more thorough understanding of the one or more
embodiments. It is evident, however, in various cases, that the one
or more embodiments can be practiced without these specific
details.
By improving the optimality of control throughout a flight,
airlines can decrease their operating cost. One suboptimal portion
of a flight is transit through noise-restricted areas (also called
noise-restricted volume, noise abatement volume, noise-restricted
airspace volume, noise-restricted airspace, etc.). When complying
with noise constraints in noise-restricted areas encountered during
a climb shortly after takeoff, thrust is decreased at a specified
altitude then increased at a higher altitude. The operator is
required to comply with a specified maximum sound pressure level on
the ground referred to as community noise. Traditionally, to assure
compliance, the altitudes are conservatively specified independent
of the airplane position relative to the ground. Consequently, the
results is not a minimal direct operating cost (DOC). Direct
operating cost is associated with fuel cost and time cost. When
noise is an added parameter, DOC is often equal or greater than
prior to consideration of noise. Minimizing DOC and complying with
noise restrictions are often conflicting objectives. In complying
with noise restrictions, thrust is decreased, which can delay
reaching a higher altitude where greater efficiencies can be
realized. A noise cost can be a controlling factor while minimizing
DOC or DOC can be a controlling factor while complying with noise
constraints. By optimizing aircraft control to minimize fuel burn
while complying with noise restrictions or concurrently minimizing
cost and noise, airlines can decrease their total cost of
operations.
The present innovation(s) can be used as a flight planning or air
traffic management tool that allocates noise level to each
aircraft. In addition to being in the aircraft, this technology can
be located on the ground or any suitable location. The present
innovation(s) measure and estimate an aircraft state so that fuel
is saved by applying suboptimal thrust and configuration changes
only where needed. The aircraft state can include but is not
limited to aircraft position, altitude, speed, engine control,
fuel, thrust, etc. Fuel savings can be achieved by finding an
optimal airspeed and thrust that minimizes cost while admissible
thrust control is constrained to comply with noise restriction. The
developed technology led to a new definition of noise restriction.
That is, the maximum permissible sound as a function of slant range
(e.g., straight line distance or line-of-sight distance) to
specific geographic locations. This definition can be used to
determine an optimal flight (e.g., can include, but is not limited
to, flight path, flight resource consumption, flight resource
allocation, etc.) that complies with community noise restriction.
For a commercial air transport, an optimum flight can be defined as
a state trajectory that results from flying an airplane according
to an optimal control history that minimizes DOC.
The optimum flight can be built in to the operating cost
minimization routine to allow an operator to select what to
control. Knowing a maximum engine control that will comply with
noise regulations, the operator is free to control what to minimize
Sound can be modeled based on various parameters and engine control
such as thrust, engine pressure ratio, flight path angle, angle of
attack, etc. So, where thrust or another specific engine control is
mentioned as a basis for the sound produced by the engines, other
parameters and engine controls may be used.
FIG. 1 illustrates an aircraft control system 100 in accordance
with an embodiment. The system 100 includes a processor 108 and
memory 110 for executing and storing computer executable components
and/or code in accordance with various implementations disclosed
herein. The sensor(s) 102, gauge(s) 104, and positioning component
106 within the system 100 continuously measure and estimate an
aircraft state such as aircraft position, altitude, speed, engine
control, fuel, thrust, etc. A mapping component 112 of system 100
can be any suitable type of positioning system that calculates
dimensional position(s). Although, it is desirable to have a
positioning system that tracks movement of the aircraft in at least
a 3-dimensional position including latitude, longitude and
altitude.
The noise abatement component 114 takes the aircraft state
information and computes optimal flight and engine control while
factoring in noise-restricted locations. Noise-restricted areas are
mapped by the mapping component 112. These locations and
corresponding noise levels may be downloaded from a database
containing pre-defined noise restriction locations.
Noise-restriction location or ground noise restriction location is
a general term that includes any applicable area or space. It can
also be areas not in the database where the operator desires to
abate noise level. Given that the aircraft control system 100 can
continually measure and estimate current aircraft state, noise
abatement can be computed on-board and generate a different optimal
flight if rerouting is desired. Alternatively, the aircraft can
share its data to a ground control system, which in turn can send a
new optimal flight to the aircraft. This is especially helpful when
the planned route need to be changed.
For flight planning, the noise abatement component 114 can also
generate predefined noise routes based on class and size of the
aircraft and predicted aircraft state. A flight plan is a
predefined noise routes for optimal noise, fuel, and time for most
aircraft or specific to each aircraft class and size. The rate that
aircraft fuel burns typically depends on the aircraft weight,
atmospheric conditions, aircraft speed, altitude, etc. An
international plane carrying over 500 people can burn 36,000
gallons (150,000 Liters) of fuel over the course of a 10-hour
flight and approximately 5 gallons of fuel per mile (12 liters per
kilometer). Depending on the route and the time it takes to reach a
destination, there can be a significant difference in fuel weight
and the amount of fuel required. By simply saving a few pounds of
fuel per flight, commercial airline companies can save a large
amount of money per year over their whole fleet of aircraft. This
can lead to increased profits and decreased ticket prices. Smaller
ticket prices can provide one airline an advantage over another
airline. Thus, flight planning is a significant component in
connection with optimizing aircraft fuel economy.
As an example, compare flight profiles 202 and 204 in FIG. 2.
Flight profile 202 illustrates the way a flight might be flown with
existing technology. That is the optimal speed is determined by
unconstrained thrust. Flight profile 204 illustrates how a flight
might be flown with the optimal speed determined by thrust that is
constrained to comply with the noise regulation. Shortly after
takeoff, both flight profiles 202 and 204 go through the
noise-restricted area 206. The flight path outside the
noise-restricted area is the optimal trajectory that results from
the unconstrained optimal control. This is the result of the thrust
control not being limited to comply with the noise regulation.
Notice how the flight profile 202 departs from the optimal flight
profile 204 when entering the noise-restricted area due to the use
of decreased thrust without changing speed. The cost of the optimal
flight profile 204 is less than the suboptimal flight profile 202
for two reasons. First, the flight profile 204 through the
noise-restricted area 206 is optimal. Secondly, due to the
difference in speed, the aircraft exits the noise-restricted area
206, where thrust is unconstrained and fuel economy is better, at
an earlier time. In optimal control theory, an admissible control
is defined as the control history that accurately complies with
operational and performance constraints. Thus, a novel aspect of
the innovations described herein is admissible control that is
accurately constrained to comply with noise regulations and yield
optimized performance. The optimal flight profile 204 represents a
constructive tradeoff between flying optimally within the
noise-restricted area 206 and a point at which the aircraft exits
the noise-restricted area 206. Additionally, speed may vary as the
aircraft ascends, and thus the aircraft is flying the optimal speed
at most every point in the noise-restricted area 206.
An implementation of this invention includes a de-rate setting to
facilitate regulating thrust to limit amount of noise produced by
engines of the aircraft. During takeoff before entering into the
noise-restricted area 206, the engine control has a greater thrust
and a maximum climb angle to reach furthest off the ground.
Whereas, while the aircraft is within a noise-restricted area 206,
a reduced thrust and a corresponding decreased climb angle is
employed, which produces less noise. The different components of
the aircraft control system 100 exchange information to determine
optimal flight and engine control(s). Furthermore, as thrust is
being decreased, the noise abatement component 114 of system 100
continually calculates optimal speed at most every throttle
setting. A similar computation process is applies for landing as it
does with takeoff except the aircraft is lighter with decreased
fuel weight and the aircraft is descending rather than climbing. An
additional element that the noise abatement component 114 factors
in and takes advantage of is the increasing distance between the
aircraft and the ground where noise is regulated.
See for example flight profile 308 from FIG. 3, which depicts the
added advantage in distance that flight profiles 202 and 204 from
FIG. 2 do not. Flight profile 308 increases thrust with altitude.
Consider an object that produces sound; as the distance between a
point in space and the object increase, the magnitude (or volume)
of the sound decreases. More specifically, the measured noise
called the sound pressure level is inversely proportional to the
distance from the source of the sound. This concept can be applied
to the sound produced by an aircraft engine. Given a model of how
the sound from an engine varies with thrust and the distance of the
aircraft from the ground, the thrust of the engine (and thus the
sound produced by the engine) may be increased while complying with
the maximum sound pressure level permitted on the ground. Applying
this to the flight path, thrust can increase as altitude increases
while still complying with the noise restrictions.
As the aircraft moves further away from the ground, the thrust
upper limit relaxes allowing the aircraft to fly more optimally.
Thus, the control approaches the unconstrained optimum as the
airplane ascends and the distance from the community increases.
This results in the admissible control through the noise-restricted
volume approaching the unconstrained optimum as altitude increases
until the aircraft exits the volume. Additionally, the admissible
control may return to the unconstrained control at an altitude
below the upper altitude of the noise-restricted airspace if the
most optimal thrust complies with community noise regulations. It
is to be appreciated that flight plan constraints intended for
safety are significant factors for consideration (e.g., a flight
plan safety constraints require being at a particular altitude at a
given waypoint). In some cases, there may be contradictory
constraints where there is no ideal solution (e.g., noise below
some level, but climb very fast), in that case the pilot can be
alerted of being projected to be above a noise limit. The pilot can
decide whether to takeoff, or wait for a noise restriction to clear
(e.g., perhaps early in the morning)
Previous to the present innovation(s), the boundary of a noise
restriction is defined by an airspace volume. However, in practice
the description may instead be defined by the line-of-sight
distance between the aircraft and geographic points on the ground.
This approach eliminates the need for a noise-restrictive volume or
altitude band, as depicted in FIG. 4. Flight profile 402 represents
the flight path that results from defining the noise limit relative
to the ground and flight profile 404 represents the path that
results as a function of the slant range to the building.
By using distance to specific geographic locations where community
noise is an issue, the aircraft can fly more optimally as it
ascends away from that specific point. When approaching locations
where noise restriction is necessary, the aircraft can then
decrease thrust based on the distance to that point in order to
comply with the noise regulations. If the location of specific
areas is not available, the geographical location used to regulate
noise can be the point on the ground closest to the aircraft. Using
the distance to specific geographical locations and using the
distance to the ground are different embodiments of this
technology. The best formulation is determined using the aircraft
control system 100 with the mapping component 112 containing
noise-restrictive areas on the ground and the noise abatement
component 114 computes optimal flight and engine control. At any
moment, the positioning component 106 can obtain location data of
the aircraft and the noise abatement component 114 can calculate
optimal flight and engine control(s) that comply with community
noise regulations.
Additionally, the aircraft control system 100 can also factor in
environmental noise. Such city noise can include other aircraft
noise, so that all the noise produced is not over community
regulated noise limit. The ground piece of the aircraft control
system 100 can factor in the number of aircraft within an area and
allocate the noise level limit to each aircraft. The allocation
level is going to be smaller when there are a lot of aircraft
traffic than when there are fewer aircraft landing and taking
off.
FIG. 5 illustrates a modeling component 502 of the aircraft control
system 100 in accordance with an embodiment. The modeling component
502 models how sound from an engine of the aircraft varies with
thrust and distance of the aircraft from ground. As the aircraft
moves further away from the ground, the magnitude of the sound
decreases. The modeling component 502 can model how sound varies
with different engine control and ground distance. The noise
abatement component 114 analyzes the sound produced and compute
optimal flight and engine control. This process can be analyzed and
computed continually during flight or as part of the flight
planning The noise profile is not limited to thrust. The noise
profile can be based on a number of aircraft characteristics such
as noise versus flight path angle or noise versus angle of attack,
etc. This is possible since angle of attack and flight path angle
will vary with the amount of thrust generated by the engines. The
noise abatement component 502 can generate data to employ for
changing noise profile while complying with maximum sound pressure
level permitted on the ground.
FIG. 6 illustrates an artificial intelligence component 602 of the
aircraft control system 100 in accordance with an embodiment. The
artificial intelligence component 602 can perform a utility-based
analysis in connection with optimizing the DOC and respective noise
abatement. The artificial intelligence component 602 can recognize
the course of flight, deduce whether changes need to be made, and
analyze the data to achieve the goal of optimizing aircraft control
in order to minimize DOC. It is appreciated that there are other
alternative technologies such as gradient-descent search, simplex
search, brute force exhaustive search, Bayesian modeling,
evolutionary computation, neural networks, etc.
The embodiments of the present invention herein can employ
artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate automating one or more
features of the present invention. The components can employ
various AI-based schemes for carrying out various
embodiments/examples disclosed herein. In order to provide for or
aid in the numerous determinations (e.g., determine, ascertain,
infer, calculate, predict, prognose, estimate, derive, forecast,
detect, compute) of the present invention, components of the
present invention can examine the entirety or a subset of the data
to which it is granted access and can provide for reasoning about
or determine states of the system, environment, etc. from a set of
observations as captured via events and/or data. Determinations can
be employed to identify a specific context or action, or can
generate a probability distribution over states, for example. The
determinations can be probabilistic--that is, the computation of a
probability distribution over states of interest based on a
consideration of data and events. Determinations can also refer to
techniques employed for composing higher-level events from a set of
events and/or data.
Such determinations can result in the construction of new events or
actions from a set of observed events and/or stored event data,
whether or not the events are correlated in close temporal
proximity, and whether the events and data come from one or several
event and data sources. Components disclosed herein can employ
various classification (explicitly trained (e.g., via training
data) as well as implicitly trained (e.g., via observing behavior,
preferences, historical information, receiving extrinsic
information, etc.)) schemes and/or systems (e.g., support vector
machines, neural networks, expert systems, Bayesian belief
networks, fuzzy logic, data fusion engines, etc.) in connection
with performing automatic and/or determined action in connection
with the claimed subject matter. Thus, classification schemes
and/or systems can be used to automatically learn and perform a
number of functions, actions, and/or determination.
A classifier can map an input attribute vector, z=(z1, z2, z3, z4,
zn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, as by
f(z)=confidence(class). Such classification can employ a
probabilistic and/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring
into the analysis utilities and costs) to determinate an action to
be automatically performed. A support vector machine (SVM) can be
an example of a classifier that can be employed. The SVM operates
by finding a hyper-surface in the space of possible inputs, where
the hyper-surface attempts to split the triggering criteria from
the non-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the
classification correct for testing data that is near, but not
identical to training data. Other directed and undirected model
classification approaches include, e.g., naive Bayes, Bayesian
networks, decision trees, neural networks, fuzzy logic models,
and/or probabilistic classification models providing different
patterns of independence can be employed. Classification as used
herein also is inclusive of statistical regression that is utilized
to develop models of priority.
FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram 700 in accordance with an
implementation where optimal flight and engine control is
calculated that minimizes DOC while obeying noise constraints. At
702, a determination as to the aircraft state is made which is a
measure and estimate of the aircraft position, altitude, speed,
engine control, fuel, thrust, etc. At 704, the noise-restricted
areas of a flight path defined by relative position of the aircraft
to ground noise restriction locations is mapped. Then at 706,
optimal flight and engine control is computed based on a
line-of-sight distance to ground noise restriction locations or
geographical point of interest to minimize DOC while obeying noise
constraints. A map of these noise-restricted areas can be
downloaded from a database. The noise-restricted areas can also be
inputted by the operator for locations the operator wants to
restrict the noise level. This is particularly helpful for
aircrafts that flies over populated city where the community wants
a reduced the noise level.
During the course of a flight, the sensor(s) 102, gauge(s) 104, and
positioning component 502 are measuring and estimating the aircraft
state. The mapping component 112 maps the noise-restricted areas.
These data are collected and used by the modeling component 502 to
model how the sound of the aircraft varies with thrust and distance
from the noise-restricted areas. The noise abatement component 114
then uses these data to calculate optimal flight and engine
control. It is contemplated that the artificial intelligence
component 602 can automate one or more of these utility-based
analysis in connection with optimizing the DOC and respective noise
abatement.
FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram 800 in accordance with another
implementation. At 802, optimal flight and engine control is
determined while complying with noise regulations. At 804, a
determination is made whether the flight and engine control is
optimal. If no, the process continues to determine optimal flight
and engine control. If yes, at 806, determine the sound produced by
the aircraft, and at 808, apply optimized flight and engine
control.
As the aircraft climbs out of the noise-restricted area, determined
by the line-of sight distance to the noise-restricted location, the
constrained thrust and speed is constantly changing to take
advantage of the distance as the aircraft moves further away from
the restricted location. The aircraft is also gradually getting
lighter as fuel is used up. As such, the aircraft control system
100 can factor in changes to optimize the flight and engine control
at every point of the flight. Thus, the noise abatement 100 can
continually monitor aircraft state and its environment, determine
optimal flight and engine control(s), and apply the optimal flight
and engine control(s) that comply with noise regulations.
In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the
disclosed subject matter, FIG. 9 as well as the following
discussion are intended to provide a general description of a
suitable environment in which the various aspects of the disclosed
subject matter can be implemented. FIG. 9 illustrates a block
diagram of an example, non-limiting operating environment in which
one or more embodiments described herein can be facilitated.
Repetitive description of like elements employed in other
embodiments described herein is omitted for sake of brevity.
With reference to FIG. 9, a suitable operating environment 900 for
implementing various aspects of this disclosure can also include a
computer 912. The computer 912 can also include a processing unit
914, a system memory 916, and a system bus 918. The system bus 918
couples system components including, but not limited to, the system
memory 916 to the processing unit 914. The processing unit 914 can
be any of various available processors. Dual microprocessors and
other multiprocessor architectures also can be employed as the
processing unit 914. The system bus 918 can be any of several types
of bus structure(s) including the memory bus or memory controller,
a peripheral bus or external bus, and/or a local bus using any
variety of available bus architectures including, but not limited
to, Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA), Micro-Channel
Architecture (MSA), Extended ISA (EISA), Intelligent Drive
Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB), Peripheral Component
Interconnect (PCI), Card Bus, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Advanced
Graphics Port (AGP), Firewire (IEEE 994), and Small Computer
Systems Interface (SCSI).
The system memory 916 can also include volatile memory 920 and
nonvolatile memory 922. The basic input/output system (BIOS),
containing the basic routines to transfer information between
elements within the computer 912, such as during start-up, is
stored in nonvolatile memory 922. Computer 912 can also include
removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer storage
media. FIG. 9 illustrates, for example, a disk storage 924. Disk
storage 924 can also include, but is not limited to, devices like a
magnetic disk drive, floppy disk drive, tape drive, Jaz drive, Zip
drive, LS-100 drive, flash memory card, or memory stick. The disk
storage 924 also can include storage media separately or in
combination with other storage media. To facilitate connection of
the disk storage 924 to the system bus 918, a removable or
non-removable interface is typically used, such as interface 926.
FIG. 9 also depicts software that acts as an intermediary between
users and the basic computer resources described in the suitable
operating environment 900. Such software can also include, for
example, an operating system 928. Operating system 928, which can
be stored on disk storage 924, acts to control and allocate
resources of the computer 912.
System applications 930 take advantage of the management of
resources by operating system 928 through program modules 932 and
program data 934, e.g., stored either in system memory 916 or on
disk storage 924. It is to be appreciated that this disclosure can
be implemented with various operating systems or combinations of
operating systems. A user enters commands or information into the
computer 912 through input device(s) 936. Input devices 936
include, but are not limited to, a pointing device such as a mouse,
trackball, stylus, touch pad, keyboard, microphone, joystick, game
pad, satellite dish, scanner, TV tuner card, digital camera,
digital video camera, web camera, and the like. These and other
input devices connect to the processing unit 914 through the system
bus 918 via interface port(s) 938. Interface port(s) 938 include,
for example, a serial port, a parallel port, a game port, and a
universal serial bus (USB). Output device(s) 940 use some of the
same type of ports as input device(s) 936. Thus, for example, a USB
port can be used to provide input to computer 912, and to output
information from computer 912 to an output device 940. Output
adapter 942 is provided to illustrate that there are some output
devices 940 like monitors, speakers, and printers, among other
output devices 940, which require special adapters. The output
adapters 942 include, by way of illustration and not limitation,
video and sound cards that provide a means of connection between
the output device 940 and the system bus 918. It should be noted
that other devices and/or systems of devices provide both input and
output capabilities such as remote computer(s) 944.
Computer 912 can operate in a networked environment using logical
connections to one or more remote computers, such as remote
computer(s) 944. The remote computer(s) 944 can be a computer, a
server, a router, a network PC, a workstation, a microprocessor
based appliance, a peer device or other common network node and the
like, and typically can also include many or all of the elements
described relative to computer 912. For purposes of brevity, only a
memory storage device 946 is illustrated with remote computer(s)
944. Remote computer(s) 944 is logically connected to computer 912
through a network interface 948 and then physically connected via
communication connection 950. Network interface 948 encompasses
wire and/or wireless communication networks such as local-area
networks (LAN), wide-area networks (WAN), cellular networks, etc.
LAN technologies include Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI),
Copper Distributed Data Interface (CDDI), Ethernet, Token Ring and
the like. WAN technologies include, but are not limited to,
point-to-point links, circuit switching networks like Integrated
Services Digital Networks (ISDN) and variations thereon, packet
switching networks, and Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL).
Communication connection(s) 950 refers to the hardware/software
employed to connect the network interface 948 to the system bus
918. While communication connection 950 is shown for illustrative
clarity inside computer 912, it can also be external to computer
912. The hardware/software for connection to the network interface
948 can also include, for exemplary purposes only, internal and
external technologies such as, modems including regular telephone
grade modems, cable modems and DSL modems, ISDN adapters, and
Ethernet cards.
The present invention may be a system, a method, an apparatus
and/or a computer program product at any possible technical detail
level of integration. The computer program product can include a
computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer
readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to
carry out aspects of the present invention. The computer readable
storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store
instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The
computer readable storage medium can be, for example, but is not
limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage
device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage
device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination
of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples
of the computer readable storage medium can also include the
following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random
access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable
programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static
random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a
floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or
raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon,
and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable
storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being
transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely
propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves
propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g.,
light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical
signals transmitted through a wire.
Computer readable program instructions described herein can be
downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a
computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or
external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a
local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network.
The network can comprise copper transmission cables, optical
transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls,
switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter
card or network interface in each computing/processing device
receives computer readable program instructions from the network
and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage
in a computer readable storage medium within the respective
computing/processing device. Computer readable program instructions
for carrying out operations of the present invention can be
assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA)
instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions,
microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration
data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code
written in any combination of one or more programming languages,
including an object oriented programming language such as
Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages,
such as the "C" programming language or similar programming
languages. The computer readable program instructions can execute
entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as
a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and
partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or
server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer can be
connected to the user's computer through any type of network,
including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN),
or the connection can be made to an external computer (for example,
through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some
embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,
programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays
(FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) can execute the computer
readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the
computer readable program instructions to personalize the
electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present
invention.
Aspects of the present invention are described herein with
reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of
methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products
according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood
that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block
diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations
and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable
program instructions. These computer readable program instructions
can be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer,
special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing
apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which
execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable
data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the
functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram
block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions can
also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can
direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or
other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the
computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein
comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which
implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart
and/or block diagram block or blocks. The computer readable program
instructions can also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable
data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of
operational acts to be performed on the computer, other
programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer
implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on
the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device
implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or
block diagram block or blocks.
The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate the
architecture, functionality, and operation of possible
implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products
according to various embodiments of the present invention. In this
regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams can represent
a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one
or more executable instructions for implementing the specified
logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the
functions noted in the blocks can occur out of the order noted in
the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession can, in
fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks can
sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the
functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of
the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations
of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can
be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that
perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations
of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
While the subject matter has been described above in the general
context of computer-executable instructions of a computer program
product that runs on a computer and/or computers, those skilled in
the art will recognize that this disclosure also can or can be
implemented in combination with other program modules. Generally,
program modules include routines, programs, components, data
structures, etc. that perform particular tasks and/or implement
particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art
will appreciate that the inventive computer-implemented methods can
be practiced with other computer system configurations, including
single-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, mini-computing
devices, mainframe computers, as well as computers, hand-held
computing devices (e.g., PDA, phone), microprocessor-based or
programmable consumer or industrial electronics, and the like. The
illustrated aspects can also be practiced in distributed computing
environments in which tasks are performed by remote processing
devices that are linked through a communications network. However,
some, if not all aspects of this disclosure can be practiced on
stand-alone computers. In a distributed computing environment,
program modules can be located in both local and remote memory
storage devices.
As used in this application, the terms "component," "system,"
"platform," "interface," and the like, can refer to and/or can
include a computer-related entity or an entity related to an
operational machine with one or more specific functionalities. The
entities disclosed herein can be either hardware, a combination of
hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For
example, a component can be, but is not limited to being, a process
running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a
thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of
illustration, both an application running on a server and the
server can be a component. One or more components can reside within
a process and/or thread of execution and a component can be
localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more
computers. In another example, respective components can execute
from various computer readable media having various data structures
stored thereon. The components can communicate via local and/or
remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or
more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with
another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or
across a network such as the Internet with other systems via the
signal). As another example, a component can be an apparatus with
specific functionality provided by mechanical parts operated by
electric or electronic circuitry, which is operated by a software
or firmware application executed by a processor. In such a case,
the processor can be internal or external to the apparatus and can
execute at least a part of the software or firmware application. As
yet another example, a component can be an apparatus that provides
specific functionality through electronic components without
mechanical parts, wherein the electronic components can include a
processor or other means to execute software or firmware that
confers at least in part the functionality of the electronic
components. In an aspect, a component can emulate an electronic
component via a virtual machine, e.g., within a cloud computing
system.
In addition, the term "or" is intended to mean an inclusive "or"
rather than an exclusive "or." That is, unless specified otherwise,
or clear from context, "X employs A or B" is intended to mean any
of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X
employs B; or X employs both A and B, then "X employs A or B" is
satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. Moreover, articles
"a" and "an" as used in the subject specification and annexed
drawings should generally be construed to mean "one or more" unless
specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a
singular form. As used herein, the terms "example" and/or
"exemplary" are utilized to mean serving as an example, instance,
or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the subject matter
disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In addition, any
aspect or design described herein as an "example" and/or
"exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or
advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor is it meant to
preclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques known to
those of ordinary skill in the art.
As it is employed in the subject specification, the term
"processor" can refer to substantially any computing processing
unit or device comprising, but not limited to, single-core
processors; single-processors with software multithread execution
capability; multi-core processors; multi-core processors with
software multithread execution capability; multi-core processors
with hardware multithread technology; parallel platforms; and
parallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, a
processor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application
specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor
(DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic
controller (PLC), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), a
discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or
any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described
herein. Further, processors can exploit nano-scale architectures
such as, but not limited to, molecular and quantum-dot based
transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimize space usage
or enhance performance of user equipment. A processor can also be
implemented as a combination of computing processing units. In this
disclosure, terms such as "store," "storage," "data store," data
storage," "database," and substantially any other information
storage component relevant to operation and functionality of a
component are utilized to refer to "memory components," entities
embodied in a "memory," or components comprising a memory. It is to
be appreciated that memory and/or memory components described
herein can be either volatile memory or nonvolatile memory, or can
include both volatile and nonvolatile memory. By way of
illustration, and not limitation, nonvolatile memory can include
read only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically
programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), flash
memory, or nonvolatile random access memory (RAM) (e.g.,
ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM). Volatile memory can include RAM, which
can act as external cache memory, for example. By way of
illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in many forms
such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous
DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM
(ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM),
direct Rambus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and Rambus dynamic RAM (RDRAM).
Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or
computer-implemented methods herein are intended to include,
without being limited to including, these and any other suitable
types of memory.
What has been described above include mere examples of systems and
computer-implemented methods. It is, of course, not possible to
describe every conceivable combination of components or
computer-implemented methods for purposes of describing this
disclosure, but one of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that
many further combinations and permutations of this disclosure are
possible. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms "includes,"
"has," "possesses," and the like are used in the detailed
description, claims, appendices and drawings such terms are
intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term
"comprising" as "comprising" is interpreted when employed as a
transitional word in a claim.
The descriptions of the various embodiments have been presented for
purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or
limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and
variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art
without departing from the scope and spirit of the described
embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain
the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or
technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace,
or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the
embodiments disclosed herein.
* * * * *